


Flame Insignia

by Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread



Series: Tales From The Garreg Mach School of Peace: My Three Houses Modern AU [11]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And how unsure we all were?, Canon Disabled Character, Claude has Mangs luck, Disabled Character, Gen, Hubert is a closeted good, Hubert is in that stage now, I apologize in advance, Non-Binary Hubert, References to other Fire Emblem games, References to the Tellius series from someone who's never played them, Remember Three Houses' first trailer?, make of that what you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22808857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread/pseuds/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread
Summary: Hubert will admit privately that they are worried about Edelgard's interest in their favorite strategy game series....
Series: Tales From The Garreg Mach School of Peace: My Three Houses Modern AU [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629751
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Flame Insignia

Hubert von Vestra has watched the trailer seven times, and they are  _ still _ conflicted. The sword has blood now. That’s cool. But is talking to the characters the new class tree? And the school… Does the war happen  _ in _ the school?

Flame Insignia games are always about war.

Hubert goes to click play for the eighth time when they feel a hand on their shoulder. They instinctively jolt, although in this room, there is only one person it could be.

Edelgard von Hresvelg nestles her chin onto their shoulder. That can’t be comfortable; they’re bony. They pat a spot on the bed next to them. The future leader of Adrestia smiles mischievously. They know that she wants an explanation, but they’ve spent an  _ embarrassing _ amount of time on this, as opposed to  _ real _ work, work for  _ her _ ….

“I have completed my assignment,” they state.

“Some assignment you got there,” she hums wryly, eyes glinting.

They turn their computer screen to her, and the trailer plays for the eighth time. “I like the lady with the high heels. Is she playable?” They shrug. “Who’s talking in the trailer?”

“We don’t know yet,” they answer.

She hums thoughtfully, then… “Will the hot lady be in this one?”

Edelgard had thought a great many characters in the Flame Insignia games were attractive. Hubert privately thinks that she is missing the point of the franchise, but… They think that  _ privately _ . “...Which one?” they broach tentatively.

“The blue-haired one.”

Most protagonists in the Flame Insignia series have blue hair, so her explanation does not narrow the list down much. However, considering their liege’s limited knowledge of the franchise and tendency to only focus on the characters spotlighted in the main story… “Lucina?” they guess.

“Yes! Her!”

They elect not to tell her that one of the charms of the Flame Insignia franchise is that it is united not by setting primarily but by theming, only saying that the trailer is new and the game’s release date is still far off. Anything could happen! (Hubert does not want Lucina in this newest Flame Insignia game, though.)

They think that  _ privately _ .

* * *

When the duo go to lunch, Hubert hopes to get their mind off of Flame Insignia. They have work to do, both as a student and as… someone already involved in politics. They almost wish that their liege would ban them from such frivolous activities. Their mind takes too long to focus back on what matters.

Their wish does not come true.

The dining hall is especially loud, and the retainer tracks the room’s especially-loudness to an especially loud person. Claude von Riegan is sitting on his knees, lording over a conglomerate of tables. “Who’s down for a themed Golden Deer game night?”

“Whatcha thinkin’, Claude?” Raphael asks while chewing with his mouth  _ open _ .

“Flame Insignia!” They, with great effort, keep their eyes on their food, but out of the corner of their eye, they can see Edelgard turn. “I’d need some time to set things up, but since that trailer for the first Flame Insignia game in  _ years _ for home consoles dropped, I’d like to do the last FI game on home consoles: Road of Light. Maybe Bright Morning too? Either way, an Ironman run would be really entertaining, don’t ya think?”

One only knows about the Tellius games if they have been following the series for a while or have gone deep into the franchise. As loathe as Hubert is to admit it, Claude  _ must _ know what he’s talking about, especially if he is serious about doing an Ironman run..!

Ah, but no. They are a busy student. They are busy student _ s _ . Claude must just be procrastinating, and that is nothing neither they nor Lady Edelgard need to-

“Let’s go.”

They cough, but luckily, they were taking small bites.  _ Like a normal person. _ “What?” they hiss.

“Let’s go. You like Flame Insignia. I like Flame Insignia. You said yourself that you’ve completed your work.” They take too long to respond. Edelgard quirks a brow at them. “Unless you were lying to me.”

The thought makes them  _ shudder _ . “It is not that,” they hastily explain. “It is that I am wary of my ability to… maintain my composure around Claude.”

“We’ve been through worse.”

And she’s got them there.

After Claude summarizes the ideas of the Flame Insignia games and talks about the Ironman run, his housemates chirp, one by one, their approval. However, Hubert’s plan to hide in the crowd starts to fall apart. “Sounds like a real fun time, Claude,” Raphael tells him. “But me and Ignatz -and Lysithea, depending on how she’s feeling- have an appointment.”

“An appointment?” Lorenz repeats incredulously.

“A reservation,” Ignatz clarifies. “The two of us go to a new restaurant at the end of every month.”

“And I’m not going to let them have what’s apparently the best cake in the area without me!” Lysithea pipes up. Hubert watches as Edelgard commits that fact to memory: Lysithea likes cake. That is something that is a bit difficult for them to provide, considering that they dislike dessert on their own, discounting their friend’s dietary restrictions, but they know how much their liege wants the prodigy to like her….

“Incidentally, I have an appointment as well.”

“A reservation somewhere with Ferdinand?” Ignatz asks.

“No. An appointment.”

And since Claude can’t let sleeping dogs lie, he pushes the point. “A dentist appointment,” Lorenz relents. “And I hope that I’ll be  _ sleeping _ after it.”

Leonie starts saying that she preferred to be awake for her wisdom teeth’s removal, but Lorenz will hear  _ none _ of it: “No, I want as little memory of the event as possible!”

And Hubert wants as little memory of how the surgeons struggled to get Leonie’s last wisdom tooth as possible. They have lost their appetite. How do those people talk about such things during mealtime..?

* * *

Hubert slips into The Golden Deer common room first, scoping out the situation before giving the signal to their liege. Claude has a projector and computer set-up. That makes sense; the Tellius games are notoriously difficult to get a hold of. Hilda is chattering next to him while a third voice pipes up from the couch: Leonie’s. They wince as Sylvain drags a chair unceremoniously across the floor and starts chatting up… Oh, that’s Marianne over there.

It seems like they’re not the only one.

They recognize Lysithea’s frustrated shout. Ah. That is unfortunate.

After they settle in an inconspicuous corner, Claude, damn him,  _ winking _ at them, they pass this information along to Edelgard.

Shortly after she arrives, the lights dim, and Claude and Hilda re-summarize the game for all of those who were not there during the dining hall discussion (Sylvain).

So they won’t be watching the cutscenes. Hubert is OK with this.

* * *

Hubert is not OK with this.

As it would turn out, they  _ are _ watching the cutscenes, just with inane commentary over them. And, yes, Hubert will admit that the voice-acting is subpar, but Claude doesn’t pay attention to the written dialogue either!

The Tellius games, unlike Fates, have a good story that deserves to be paid attention to!

But they were expecting this. Claude is… Claude. A jokester. What they were not expecting is Claude’s insane luck. He makes meme builds and forgets to equip items, but still, all of his units -Hubert has been calculating- are getting above-average level ups.

Well, except Jill. Jill died.

How do you kill Jill in Road of Light!?

Hubert wants to leave. They really do. But… They see something in Edelgard. Through Claude’s commentary, she’s picking up on the themes and connecting to the characters. Hubert realizes that they are watching a casual evolve into something more.

Despite everything, that is beautiful to behold.

And maybe they are happy as Lady Edelgard runs out to help Raphael and Ignatz bring in a slice of cake from the bakery for Lysithea too. But only because it makes her happy..!

They smile  _ privately _ .


End file.
